


Of Opportunity and Open Hearts

by Codee21



Series: Let’s Make It Count [5]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Opportunity Rover - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Discord: IronStrange Haven, Domestic Fluff, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, IronStrange, M/M, Mars, Mars rover, Mild Cursing, No Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Podfic Available, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Rescue, Rescue Missions, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark rescues the Mars Rover, Translation Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 04:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codee21/pseuds/Codee21
Summary: Stephen Strange has always thought that Tony Stark’s affection for his inventions was adorable. But when they hear about the Mars Rover’s predicament, the sorcerer discovers that his boyfriend’s love of bots extends beyond the ones he made himself.ORTony rescues Opportunity from Mars, because it’s canon and you cannot convince me otherwise.





	Of Opportunity and Open Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Golden_Asp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Asp/gifts).



> Thank you to Golden_Asp for suggesting that Tony saves Oppy, and s/o to the fabulous folks on the IronStrange Haven Discord for embracing this as a collective headcanon and posting some beautiful, inspiring fanart of Tony and his new baby. 
> 
>  
> 
> [Now translated to Vietnamese!](https://meomeoluoi0911.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/ironstrange-of-opportunity-and-open-hearts/)

“Portal me to Mars.”

Stephen looked up from his book in surprise. He turned his head to stare at Tony, who was curled up next to him on one of the Sanctum’s plush loveseats.

“Mars?” he asked incredulously. “What possible reason could you have for wanting to go to **Mars**?”

In response, Tony tilted his phone so that his boyfriend could see the news headline on the screen: “NASA’s Opportunity Rover Dies on Mars”.

“No,” said Stephen immediately. “No, Tony, you are not going to fix the Mars Rover.”

“But she needs help,” argued Tony. “She’s stranded, alone, on a barren planet. They said her solar panels got covered with dust in a windstorm. If she stays stationary for too long during Mars’s winter she’ll freeze.”

“She? Her? It’s a **robot**.”

“And so is DUM-E, but you call him a he.”

“That’s different. You made him. He’s… he’s a part of you.”

“Yeah, well, someone built Oppy, too. But now they’ve abandoned her. Do you think she deserves that? Because I don’t. She will be going to the big Radio Shack in the sky knowing that her creators didn’t care enough to come recharge her battery.”

“The Mars Rover doesn’t **know** anything. It’s a **rover**.”

 

“You know what -” Tony huffed and started to stand up. “I’m just gonna do it myself.”

“Where are you going?” asked Stephen. The sorcerer grabbed his boyfriend around the waist and pulled him sharply back down onto the couch. Tony went easily, letting himself be manhandled. He looked back at the sorcerer - his whiskey brown eyes were filled with complete trust. Even in moments like these, where he was being silly and unreasonable and childish, the man still found ways to make Stephen’s heart flutter. If anyone else in the galaxy had tried to get handsy with Tony like that, they would have suddenly found themselves facing a panicked and fully-suited Iron Man.

“I’m going to my workshop,” the engineer said simply. “If you won’t take me to Mars, I’ll do it myself. Shouldn’t take too many adjustments to make the suit capable of space travel.”

“Mars is over 54 million kilometers away, Tony.”

“Then I better get going.”

“You would freeze in deep space, Tony.”

“I’ll wear warm socks.”

“You’ll run out of power before you get there, Tony.”

“Gee, it’s a shame that no one has ever invented a device to harness the power of the sun. Guess I’ll have to be the first.”

 

Stephen could see that he was getting nowhere with this line of argument, and so he tried a different approach.

“But you hate portals,” he tried to reason.

Tony paused. “... I hate the thought of Oppy dying cold and alone even more,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “‘My battery is low and it’s getting dark,’ Stephen.  That was her last message. And now they’ve even stopped pinging her.”

“It’s a robot, Tony. Not even an AI. Just a fully mechanized bot who has lived fifteen long, fulfilling years. Don’t send yourself into a flashback trying to go through a portal, just to save some scrap metal.”

“At this point, I don’t think I’ll have a flashback from a portal,” he murmured. “Not if you’re the one who makes it. I love you. I trust you. And I want you to help me rescue Oppy.”

 

Stephen hesitated.

 

Tony, sensing weakness, pressed onward. “No one deserves to be left for dead, Stephen. No one should have to die cold and alone.”

The sorcerer suddenly knew that they were no longer talking about Opportunity. His boyfriend so rarely brought up Siberia these days, but he knew that the tangled web of emotion still lay just beneath the surface. _Dammit_ . Tony had a knack for being simultaneously sweet and sneaky. He could be manipulative in his vulnerability when he really, truly **wanted** something.

 

How could Stephen refuse?

 

~

 

“It’s no good,” said Tony grimly. “The temperature’s dropped too low.  Her gears are contracting, I can’t get her moving when shit’s this cold.”

Stephen walked over to Tony, who was crouched down next to a lifeless Opportunity. The red, frost-covered sand of Mars crunched beneath his feet. He stooped to put a comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tony. You tried your best.”

Tony glanced over his shoulder. While Stephen usually found it incredibly sexy when a spark of determination lit up his boyfriend’s dark eyes, in this situation that fiery look only spelled trouble.

“Tony… Tony no.”

“Tony **yes** ,” replied the engineer as he stood up, throwing the wrench in his hand back into the toolbox.

“It is one thing to fix the Mars Rover while it is still on Mars. It is another thing entirely to bring it back to Earth.”

“Your point?” he asked. He kicked the toolbox closed with his foot, avoiding Stephen’s gaze.

“What if NASA finds out? They’ll want her - it - back.”

Tony smirked at his slip up. He grabbed the toolbox and handed it to Stephen. The sorcerer rolled his eyes, but he took it.

“They won’t find out. Oppy’s battery is dead and her circuits are frosting over, she can’t send or receive anything right now. Once we get her back to the shop, I’ll redirect her feeds to FRIDAY’s servers before she can come back online.”

 

With the added strength granted to him by the Iron Man suit, Tony lifted the 400-pound bot off the Martian surface easily.  Stephen noted the way his arms gently curved around it, the way he cradled it to his chest despite the sharp angles that were creating scratches on the suit’s new paint job.

 

And in that moment, he knew he’d already lost.

They were going to take Opportunity home with them.

_Fuck._

 

With his free hand, Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his fingers as they passed through the magical barrier on his face that allowed him to breathe in the thin Martian atmosphere.

“She stays at the Tower,” he said in defeat. The sorcerer lowered his hand and began to create a portal. “When - not if but **when** \- NASA finds out that we have her, you are to tell them that you flew here yourself. If the US government ever discovers that I am capable of free and instantaneous interplanetary space travel, I will never be rid of them.”

Tony grinned. “Deal.” He decided not to point out Stephen’s shift in pronoun usage in referring to Oppy. Beneath the cloak and robes and imposing demeanor, the sorcerer was a sap, and Tony knew that once they were back on Earth he would take to her quickly.

Instead, he lowered his gaze to the bot in his arms. His smile softened. “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered as he carried her toward the portal. “It’s time to come home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This work is part of a series. All fics are standalone, but they fit within one narrative timeline and compliment each other. If you like what you just read, check out the rest of the series and subscribe for more updates! :)
> 
> Kudos and comments are ALWAYS appreciated

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Of Opportunity and Open Hearts [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18969772) by [Codee21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codee21/pseuds/Codee21)




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